#BaidutolaunchChatGPT-likeAIproductinMarch

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FT Tech News 08: ChatGPT banned in France | Baidu to launch ChatGPT-like AI product in March | Twitter removed the direct message option | Facebook sued for battery drain | CEO of Google Sundar Pichai may get a pay cut

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ChatGPT banned in France (Joined the list) Baidu to launch ChatGPT-like AI product in March Twitter back to its Twitterness | Twitter removed the direct message option Facebook sued for battery drain CEO of Google Sundar Pichai may get a pay cut

ChatGPT banned in France (Joined the list)

Ever since ChatGPT launched in November 2022, its craze is all over the world. Some say it is the future and some say it is a direct competitor of humans. The use of ChatGPT has been a topic of debate, especially in the education sector. Some people favor using ChatGPT by students whereas some are against it. The list of schools and colleges that have banned ChatGPT is getting lengthier day by day. We have already discussed in detail about ChatGPT ban in the New York education department.  Below is the list of schools and colleges that have prohibited the usage of ChatGPT and the newest member is France. New York Education Department banned ChatGPT usage by students earlier this month. Seattle Public Schools and Los Angeles Unified School District did the same in December. Baltimore County Public Schools in Maryland also blocked access to this website in students’ devices and browsers. According to ABC, in Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales, Queensland, and Tasmania are among the states and provinces that have prohibited students from using ChatGPT on school internet networks. In India, Bangalore’s RV University prohibited the use of ChatGPT by students. Sciences Po, one of the best institutions in France, prohibited the usage of ChatGPT and other AI technologies. According to Reuters, the institution warned that students who disobeyed the new regulations may be expelled.

Baidu to launch ChatGPT-like AI product in March

For your information, Baidu is China’s largest search engine. According to Reuters, Baidu is planning to launch an AI tool very much similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. It will be launched as a separate product first and then in the future may be merged into the Baidu search engine. It will answer in a conversational way much like ChatGPT instead of providing links. Yet the name of the AI service is not known because there has been no word from Baidu. This year is going to be AI’s year. Mark my words (text😁). We have already seen Microsoft investing 1 billion dollars in ChatGPT. And surely will invest a lot more in future.  Google has also demonstrated its AI service to generate music from text, humming, and whistling. This Google product is called MusicLM.

Twitter back to its Twitterness | Twitter removed the direct message option

Earlier, Twitter had the option to direct messages when you entered any profile. But now, this option has been removed. You can check it by yourself if you do not believe this. It has been removed from the Android and iOS Twitter app but is still available in the web version. That means if you open Twitter through the browser then there is still this message option in the profile section of others. But I am not sure for how long it will be there. This also means that if you want to message someone in private, you cannot do that. You have to mention him in public and write the message. There is no privacy, right? Why did Twitter (Elon Musk) do this? My guess is that this is a way to earn money. Twitter might include this in its blue subscription. Elon Musk is a man of surprises. But seeing this from last year, now I am getting used to it. Comment about how you feel about this decision.

Facebook sued for battery drain

A former Facebook employee filed a lawsuit against Facebook claiming that Facebook intensionally drains users’ phones' batteries in the name of testing features. He was also fired from the work as he refused to participate in this because it is unethical to him. According to a New York Post report, George Hayward is a data scientist aged 33 who claims to have worked with Facebook on its Messenger application. During an internal training, he came across a document titled “How to run thoughtful negative tests?” This document included examples of how to drain a phone’s battery on purpose and secretly in the disguise of running tests. According to George, he complained to the manager who in reply said it does not matter even if harms fewer people because with this it can help more. He refused to work on it and eventually he got fired. According to the report, he joined Facebook in 2019 and got fired last November. Draining a phone’s battery is not a small problem. Let’s say you are in a dire situation and need help, be it police or anyone. You need battery to use the phone and call for help. You don’t want your phone dead in emergency situations. So from the communication point of view, it is a huge problem.  

CEO of Google Sundar Pichai may get a pay cut

Google is laying off 12000 employees which are equivalent to 6% of its workforce. This is the largest layoff in Google’s 25-year history. According to reports, CEO Sundar Pichai also said that there will be cuts on annual bonuses. He said the higher the position the higher will be the bonus cut. He said all senior presidents to have bonus cuts. He did not explain in detail but it is very much possible that along with other senior-positioned employees' bonus reduction, his bonus will be deducted as well. Read the full article